Penguins Brought Indoors At Calgary Zoo Amid Cold Temperatures

Penguins from the Calgary Zoo in Canada have been brought indoors due to extremely frigid temperatures that have taken over much of North America, according to reports. The zookeepers aimed to take precautionary measures to adequately protect the birds from the increasingly cold weather.

The Calgary Zoo's guidelines require zookeepers to hold penguins inside if temperatures fall below -25 C, CTV News reported. Since temperatures have reportedly averaged at around -28 C in past few days, Zoo curator Malu Celli claimed that the low temperatures mixed with the wind chill have caused it to feel more like -40 C. As of now, there are 51 king penguins residing at the Calgary Zoo that are affected by the freezing weather.

"We just don't want to expose them to too much," Celli said in an interview Sunday, according to The Globe and Mail. "To keep them safe, we decided to pick a limit to let them out."

Zoo penguins were taken inside, sharks have washed up dead and records have been set https://t.co/9oqL5jDX7W
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 3, 2018

"It's not necessarily that it's too cold for them. I believe that physiologically, they can withstand colder weather than what we have here, but these are not wild birds," Celli added.

King penguins, which are the second largest penguin species behind the Emperor penguin, have the ability to adapt to many ranges of weather conditions from the Antarctic region to southern Chile. While they are accustomed to chillier temperatures, they tend to primarily flock towards milder climates. Penguins in colder regions will use all of their assets to keep warm, including its feathers that aid in sealing in warmth.

The group of king penguins at the Calgary Zoo spend the winter season waddling in the open air. The low temperatures have prevented this from occurring, however. Since they aren't wild birds and there is a baby penguin among the flock, the zookeepers prefer to play it safe.

Although the zoo has readjusted many of its exhibits to accommodate the increasingly freezing temperatures, visitors are still more than welcome to stop by.

The Calgary Zoo isn't the only zoo to face complications due to the cold weather in recent days. The North Carolina Zoo slashed ticket prices in half after sending some animals indoors following low temperatures. The St. Louis Zoo is also moving many of its animals inside because of the cold.